MLB.com's Carrie Muskat has been covering Major League Baseball since 1981 and is the author of "Banks to Sandberg to Grace: Five Decades of Love and Frustration with the Cubs." You can follow her on Twitter @CarrieMuskat. Here, she blogs about the Cubs.

7/18 Lopez in command

The odds were against Rodrigo Lopez on Monday. He was facing Roy Halladay, one of the best pitchers in the game, who is pitching for the best team in baseball, the Phillies. But Lopez outlasted Halladay, who couldn’t handle the heat. Lopez gave up one run on five hits over 6 2/3 innings for his third straight quality start. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Halladay was lifted after four innings, apparently overcome by the sweltering heat. It was 91 degrees at game time but the heat index made it feel more like 98.

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